1. In ancient times by—a. Phœnicians. b. Greeks. c. Romans.
2. In modern times by—Mahometan Arabs.
Physical conditions.—Occupants of—a. The mountain range of Atlas. b. The Sahara. c. The Canary Isles.
Chief Divisions.—1. Siwans, of the Oasis of Siwah, the ancient Ammonium. 2. Cabyles, of the range of Atlas. 3. Tuaricks, of the Sahara. 4. Guauches, of the Canary Islands. These last either extinct or incorporated.
Dialects as known from specimens.—1. Of Siwah. 2. Augila. 3. Fezzan. 4. Ghadamis. 5. Algeria (numerous). 6. Morocco. 7. The Sahara. 8. The Canaries.
Alphabets.—1. Arabic. 2. Tuarick.
Antiquities.—The Bilingual inscription, Carthaginian and Berber(?) of Dugga, known as the Inscriptio Tuggensis.
The aboriginal character of the Amazirgh tribes, taken with the likelihood of their representing the tributaries of Carthage, and the subjects of Masinissa, Syphax, Juba, Jugurtha, and Bocchus, has commanded the attention of scholars, and has led to important results.
That its grammatical structure is Semitic (or at least sub-Semitic) has been shown by Mr. F. Newman, who has also shown that the Haussa has Amazirgh elements. The fact, however, of its vocabulary having fewer Semitic forms than its grammar has complicated the philology. Nevertheless it does contain numerous Semitic words; whilst its isolation from the other tongues of Africa has been most gratuitous. So far from such being the case, it supplies a long list of words with miscellaneous affinities.[182]
With the Guanches of the Canaries we find the Ægyptian habit of desiccating the bodies of the dead into mummies.